NC Guitar Works

Aptly nestled in the NC Music Factory near Uptown, NC Guitar Works is the place where guitars aren’t just created, they’re perfected. Together, proprietor Nick Plescz and luthier Craig Landau boast over three decades’ experience repairing, playing, modifying and crafting the versatile string instrument.

As a luthier, or, someone skilled in the making of stringed musical instruments, Landau pioneered the business after catching interest in the craft at age 15, and studying under other luthiers at Reliable Music in Charlotte. He met and trained Plescz after hiring him for a construction job, and the two created NC Guitar Works. The pair initially garnered inspiration for lutherie from different places: Plescz, enjoying the utility of an entirely self-made creation, and Landau, improving upon another’s design until he made his perfect guitar. The men converged on a single aim, culminating in “a relentless pursuit of perfection,” says Landau.

Although NC Guitar Works offers standard services such as set-ups, tuning and crack repairs, crafting custom guitars is big business, leaving little time for much else. Taking the client’s requested specifications into account, the luthiers draw on their technical, musical and artistic skills to interpret and fashion a novel instrument. “Our guitars are built one at a time by two experts who care and strive for a perfect final product,” says Landau. He and Plescz have access to “a large cache of special exotic woods,” in addition to more familiar materials, like Mahogany, Cedar and Ebony.

While Landau’s and Plescz’s passions lie in creating the instruments, they insist their proficiencies in playing many styles of music, including jazz, bluegrass and fingerstyle, aid the proper creation of a perfected instrument. “Being able to play well gives you the ability to ‘feel’ the instrument and make necessary changes to accommodate the desired result,” says Landau. He also stresses the importance of patience when building a guitar, adding that “one wrong move can ruin the instrument.” With a base price of $4500, a little bit of crazy doesn’t hurt, either.